Blisters and Coffee
by RJ Lewis the II
Summary: Eden was out to prove the world wrong. The only problem was not getting killed in the process. See profile for author note.
1. A showdown at dusk

**Summary:** Eden Farley wanted to prove to the world that she could be like every other man that walked the earth. But no one had ever given her the chance. Until her brother gets killed and no one's left to take his place in family tradition. Except for her. The only problem is convincing her mother that she's not the little girl her mother always wanted her to be.

**Dedication:**_For David, a United States Airmen, off to serve his country in South Korea. You will always be my hero._

**--**

**Prologue**

**1931**

"Gumpa?" a small voice called out from the doorway.

Harold Farley looked over the edge of his newspaper towards the doorway, where his six year old granddaughter stood. She was dressed in a set of blue pajamas with trains on them, a hand-me-down from her older brother. Her curly, dark chocolate colored hair was braided to the side with a pink ribbon and her honey colored eyes watched him. A teddy bear was clutched in one of her small hands and the other rested on the doorway hesitantly.

"Yes, doll?" he asked as he set his paper down on the coffee table and took off his reading glasses.

The small girl looked uncertain and shy as she bounced from one foot to another. "Will you tell me a story?"

Her grandfather looked at her and thought for a moment. "Isn't it past your bedtime, Eddi?" he asked. A small grin graced his face as Eden looked sadden, as she thought that he was going to send her straight to bed. "Your mother will murder me if she knew you were up this late. And for a story, no less."

"That's okay, Gundpa," Eden's head drooped and she turned to walk away, her teddy bear cleaning the floor as she walked. "Goodnight."

"But!" her grandfather called after her, causing her to stop in mid-step and whip around to look at him with a hopeful smile.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," Harold said, a twinkle evident in his eye was he patted his knee and Eden raced over to him.

"Thank you!" She jumped onto the worn, rust colored couch and sat herself on his lap.

"So, a story?" he asked once Eden was done with her squirming and was looking up at him with her wide eyes in admiration. She nodded her head fervently, the braid of her hair bouncing off her back lightly.

"Well," he began. Eden listened intently the entire time as he told her of his days spent in BMT for the Army. She gasped and nodded her head in agreement when the story called for it. Soon, however, her eyelids began to droop and she snuggled closer to her grandfather as he continued with his story.

"And that is why I will never again be able to look at tuna fish and fabric softener the same way again," he said finishing his tale only five minutes later. Harold looked down to find the young girl fast asleep on his lap.

He gave a small sigh and shook his head in amusement. Carefully he gathered Eden in his arms and walked down the hall to her room that she shared with her older brother, Weston. He managed to nudge the door open with the toe of his brown work boot and gently laid Eden down on the twin bed across the room from a sleeping Weston. Harold bent down and gave her a small kiss on the brow and pulled to covers over Eden before turning to walk out of the room.

Standing in the door frame was his own daughter, Meg. She gave him a look and a sigh escaped her lips. Her hands were on her hip as she pushed herself off the frame and waited for her father to enter into the hall. Harold gave her a sheepish shrug and closed the door behind him.

"She wanted a story," he said simply.

Meg's curls bounced as she shook her head. "You can't keep doing this to her, Dad," she said in a forceful whisper.

Her father gave her a confused look. "Do what, darling? All I did was tell her a bedtime story."

"That's exactly it!" she said louder. Both adults didn't notice as the door to Eden's room opened slightly. "You have to stop filling her head with nonsense!"

"Nonsense?" Harold asked, starting to get angered. "I was telling her of my days spent serving this country! I hardly see how that can be considered _nonsense_, young lady!" He stood up to his full height, but Meg didn't seem at all phased that he was playing the 'dad-card' in hopes of making his point understood.

"You can't be getting her hopes up, Dad. We both know that she'll never be like you, Dennis, or Weston! It isn't possible. You know that. And you telling her stories every night about your 'glory days' will only hurt her in the end. Please," Meg said pleadingly, "I don't want to see my little girl's heart broken."

Harold gave a resigned sigh and nodded his head. "Fine," he said, "But let me just warn you of this, Meg," he looked at his daughter with hard emotion in his gray eyes, a shaking finger pointed at her. "If you continue to stomp onto your daughter's every hope and dream, then _you _will be the one breaking her heart. Not someone else." He gave her one last look before walking down the hall and closed the door to his room quietly.

Meg gave a tired sigh and wrapped her faded robe around her tighter before following the same path as her father and soon the door to her room closed with a soft click. The sounds of the bed squeaking as she settled herself into it echoed around the house. Soon, the lights in her room went dark.

A few seconds later the door to Eden's room closed softly with a click and she climbed into bed. She looked over to the other bed to see that West had managed to sleep through the fight. Staring at the ceiling with her arms beneath her head, Eden made a silent promise to herself. She would never let _anyone_ get in the way of her dreams. No one.


	2. This old town is lost

**Summary: **Eden Farley wanted to prove to the world that she could be like every other man that walked the earth. But no one had ever given her the chance. Until her brother gets killed and no one's left to take his place in family tradition. Except for her. The only problem is convincing her mother that she's not the little girl her mother always wanted her to be.

**Dedication: **_For David, a United States Airmen, off to serve his country in South Korea. You will always be my hero._

--

**Chapter One**

**Graduation**

**1943**

"I am now very proud and honored to present to you the graduating class of 1943!"

Cheers went up through the crowd of parents and family members as the newly found graduates threw their caps into the air. Eden stood clapping, a small smile appearing across her face as she watched her older brother, Weston catch his cap a goofy grin stuck to his face. In only a year that would be her standing with the rest of her senior class, listening to Principle Marks give the same exact speech to the crowd. Though, unlike the rest of her friends, Eddie wasn't looking forward to graduating from high school. The underlying fact that she wouldn't be going on to college once she graduated was most likely the reason for her resentment towards her last and final year of school. She pushed those thoughts aside as Weston made his way over to where she and her mother stood.

Weston was the run of the mill high school football player in a small Oregon town. Messy brown hair that hung down in front of his bright green eyes. He was taller than Eden by nearly a foot, and weighed about twice as much as she did. Though he was a football player, he was not a stuck up jock that had a head filled with air, much to Eden's thankfulness. He did, however, have the Over-Protective Old Brother Syndrome, O-Pobs, as Eden like to call it. She couldn't go anywhere, do anything, or be friends with anyone without West's approval. It drove her insane at times, but it was part of why she loved him so much. He wouldn't be Weston without O-Pobs.

She let out a squeal as West picked her up and spun her around, grinning. He pulled her into a tight hug when he set her down with both her feet on the ground once again. "It's finally over!" he said with a sigh, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. "No more tests, football games, pep rallies! No more _drama_!" He faked a faint, falling into Eddie, who struggled to hold his weight.

"Don't sound so sad," the sarcasm was clear from Eddie, but she grinned non the less.

Their mother gave a disgruntled humph from behind them, and the two straightened up. Meg shot her two children looks that clearly told them to behave. "Need I remind you both that we are in public?"

Eddie gave a sigh and looked towards the stage where a group of the graduates had gathered for pictures. Ever since their grandfather had died three years ago, their mother had become a different person. One that Eddie did _not_ get along with, at all. West elbowed her in the ribs before walking over to their mother.

"Sorry, Ma," Weston said, giving her a hug, which she returned stiffly. Meg Farley wasn't one for PDA's, esspecially with so many people around. She cleared her throat and moved away from her son, who silently patted himself on the back for getting at leas a hug out of her.

"Do not forget that we have the party with the Willard's this afternoon," she said after a slightly awkward silence. "I promised to help Martha set up, so I shall see both of you at four," Eddie didn't miss the emphasis on the 'both'. She turned back to see her mother giving her a hard look. "Try not to be late." Eden had a knack for showing up as late as she could without being overly rude to the parties her mother expected her to attend. Most nights she would leave early as well, right after doing the rounds and stopping by to see her mother, just to prove that she'd been there. Then she would bail and meet up with some of her friends till around the time her mother would be home. Normally the two would arrive home about the same time.

"Wouldn't think of it," Eddie answered with a too sweet smile.

Her mother ignored her and pulled an envelope out of her worn, red hand bag. She handed it towards Weston with a shaking hand, who took it with a bewildered look. He looked over at Eden, who gave him a surprised shrug. Their mother had said nothing to her about the envelope, she was in the dark as much as her older brother.

"I am very proud of you, Weston," their mother said softly. "Please know that."

Her blue eyes held tears in them, and at the moment Eden realized how old her mother was. All those years of raising two kids on her own, and working two jobs, and trying to care for her aging father had taken a toll on her. As much as Eddie didn't like her mother at times, she knew that she owed her mother for all that she had given her. That was one of the things still keeping her from dropping out of school. Though she'd never admit it to anyone, Eden strove for her mother's approval. Sadly, most of the time, her mother was too busy with other things to notice what Eden did, and how hard she tried to impress her.

West nodded his head, stunned. Neither children had seen their mother act this way since before their father died, back in 1931 from cancer. Ever since then she had cut herself off from both her children as she tried to make ends meet with the small salaries she was paid. Eden and West both had learned to deal with it, leaning on each other for support when they needed it.

"Of course, Ma," West said with a nod, his shaggy brown hair falling into his eyes.

Meg gave a cough and the moment was broken. She pulled the shawl that was around her shoulders tighter, "I'll see you both at four," she said before walking past both her children and headed towards the parking lot. West and Eden watched her go with matching confused looks plastered across their faces.

"Who was that," Eden asked when their mother was lost within the crowd, "and what the hell did she do with our mom?"

West gave a chuckle and put his arm across Eden's shoulder and steered her towards the parking lot, where his car waited for them. "No idea, kid," he said, shaking his head. The two walked in silence as they maneuvered their way through the crowd of proud parents and excited graduates. It took them almost fifteen minutes to cross the football field and reach the parking lot through all the confusion.

"Hey, Farley!" a voice called out from behind the sibling pair. Both turned around to see Pete Molt, West's best friend running towards them.

Once he reached them he bent down to rest his elbows on his knees, panting loudly. Eden gave a laugh as he held up a hand as he gathered his breath. Pete might have played football his entire life, but somehow the boy couldn't run to save his life, which was why most of his football career was spent on the bench, cheering on the rest of the team. Not that he minded being more part of the crowd than the team. Pete had and always would be a joker at heart, one who was always able to make you laugh, whether you wanted to or not.

"You alright there, Petey?" Eden asked with another laugh. He straightened up and gave her a mock glare.

"Just dandy, Ed," he answered before turning to her brother.

Eden sensed a long talk in the making before he even opened his mouth and reached up to steal West's keys from his shirt pocket. He barely noticed as the Petey brought up the topic of the party that Bridget Carter was throwing for all the graduates. With a shake of her head, Eden knew that she had lost to the two boys and started off to the parking lot on her own.

She weaved her way through the crowd and spent nearly five minutes just trying to find her brother's dark green 1939 Ford Sedan. Finally, she managed to side step being run over by cars trying to make their way out of the lot and reached her brother's car. She unlocked the passenger door and climbed inside and the noise of the crowd was cut off as she slammed the door shut.

Eden gave a sigh and rested her head against the head rest of her seat and looked out the dirty windows to watch all the happy families go off together. She tried to remember the last time that her family had been like that. Happy, together, care-free, and loving. It was before her dad had died, almost thirteen years before. They had all gone down the beach for the day, before her dad had gotten sick, and before her mother had gotten so cold. She and West had made a sand castle, but the waves had come up and destroyed it in only a wave. They had gone calling to their father, who then helped them rebuild the castle farther up the beach, away from the claws of the ocean.

It had been such a normal day for her family back then. They used to always take trips every weekend, it was the only time that both her parents could get away from work. But then Eden's dad had gotten sick, not even a week after that trip to the beach, and there weren't anymore weekend trips. In fact, that had been the last time Eddie had been to the beach, except for a school trip back in her freshman year. The beach brought back too many memories, ones she didn't want to remember.

Her thoughts were broken as West opened the door and climbed into the drivers seat.

"Party tonight," he announced, seeming to forget that Eden had been there with he and Petey only a few minutes before, "Wanna come along with me and Petey?" he gave her a side-long glance and waited for her answer.

West had been trying for the past two years to get his younger sister to be part of the social scene. Not that he wanted her to be corrupted and become one of those girls who went through high school on her back. But he still wanted her to be able to fend for herself once he went off to college. The only way he could think to keep her 'safe' while he wasn't there to watch her was to get her into the right group. However, Eden had managed to go to only a select few parties during her high school years, most of which were thrown by her friend, Mary Hiddle. Still, West felt that it was his brotherly duty to at least try and prepare his sister for a year on her own.

Eddie gave a shrug in response to her brother, "Depends on when I can get away from Ma and her friends."

Unfortunately for Eden, her older brother was not the only one worried about her well being during the future years. Though, his actions were easier for Eden to accept then that of her mother's. Eden could understand that West was worried about her being on her own during her last year of school, though she knew that she would be fine. But her mother was more worried about what Eden planned on doing after school. Of course, Eden's hopes of enlisting into the service like her dad and grandfather were out of the question, and not just by her mother's standards. That left Eden with no sense of direction in which she wanted to go after school ended. Her mother took that as a chance to take matters into her own hands. So, with the help of her closet friends, Meg had put together a list. A list, that to Eden's total dismay, that included every available bachelor that her mother approved of.

Yes, that was her mother's great plan for Eden's future: get her through the rest of high school and marry her off to a respected, pre-approved, man. Preferably a doctor or lawyer. Ever since that great plan had come together, Eden had been introduced to at least a dozen men that her mother deemed appropriate. That night would be no different, a party filled with making the rounds with her mother to all her friends, and then off to meet a possible future husband candidate.

As he pulled out of the parking lot, West gave his sister a sympathetic look. "Ma's just trying to look out for you," he said, trying to defend his mother's actions, though he didn't agree with them in the least.

A disbelieving look came over Eddie's face, "Uh huh. Next year is going to be hell without you to referee," she said, turning back to the dirty window and watched as the parking lot was lost behind them and West turned onto the main road.

West gave a bark of a laugh, "What'd you want me to do? Fail high school so I could stay home to watch the two of you bicker day in and day out?"

"You could've done that?" Eddie asked, almost seriously. West shot her a look and she dropped the subject. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Eden spoke again, "What was in the envelope?" she asked, referring to the one that their mother had given to him earlier.

He gave a shrug and reached into his jacket pocket and fished it out. West handed it to her, keeping one hand steadily on the steering wheel. "You can open it."

Eden hesitated, she didn't want to open it if it was something that she wasn't meant to see. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'd just tell you about it anyways," he answered, shooting her a grin.

He looked back towards the road as Eden tore the top of the envelope off. The envelope itself was plain cream colored, the size of a legal standard envelope. It was heavy in the corner, like something small had made its way to one end. Eden tipped the envelope upside down and a small piece of paper and a small medal fell into her open hand. She turned the medal over and found that it was the Medal of Honor that her father had been awarded during the World War.

"It's Dad's," she said softly, handing it over to a quiet Weston.

Their father had never gone into the details of how he had earned the medal, but he almost never spoke of the times he spent over seas at war at all. It had always been an off limits subject in their family, a rule that Eden's grandpa loved to break. He used to stay up late into the night telling Eden stories of his days in the Army. Her mother had never approved, which made Eden want to learn about the war even more. When he had died, Harold had left his journals, including those from during his service days, and Eden had read through all twelve of them dozens of times. Her mother read the bible at night, and Eden read the journals. Though she had never known much about her grandfather other than his days in the service, reading his journals had made her feel closer to him.

West took the medal silently, rubbing over the surface of it curiously. He looked over at the letter sitting in Eden's lap, "What's it say?"

Eden ignored him as she read through the letter silently to herself.

_Dearest Son,_

_Your Father would have wanted you to have this. Please know how very proud you have made me, and your Father had he still be here. I hope you sincerely think of what we talked about. I love you, and will accept any path in which you choose to follow. I have the forms ready for when you decide to do the right thing._

_Mother_

Eden looked at the note confused. What forms? She looked up to see Weston looking at her expectantly. Quickly she read the note to him and waited for his reaction. She didn't have to wait long.


	3. I’m flat on my back

**Summary: **Eden Farley wanted to prove to the world that she could be like every other man that walked the earth. But no one had ever given her the chance. Until her brother gets killed and no one's left to take his place in family tradition. Except for her. The only problem is convincing her mother that she's not the little girl her mother always wanted her to be.

**Dedication:**_For David, a United States Airmen, off to serve his country in South Korea. You will always be my hero._

_--_

**Chapter Two**

**Dreams Thought Forgotten**

**June, 1943**

Eden hurried out of the car after West as he slammed the door shut angrily and marched up the steps to the Willard's front porch. He had been silent the rest of the drive to the house, and Eddie was starting to get worried. The note made no sense to her, but apparently West knew exactly what their mother was implicating, and it wasn't something that made him jump for joy. She gathered up the hem of her red and white checked dress and ran after her brother as he abandoned trying to get in the front door and walked around the back of the house.

"West!" she called, trying to catch up with him, still confused about what exactly was going on.

West stopped so abruptly that Eddie ran into his back. When he turned around, she was surprised to see anger in his green eyes. West had always been the guy who kept his calm, never one to start a fight or hold grudges. Always the one to break up a fight, never the one to start it to begin with. He'd been a safe guy, someone that everyone trusted and could depend on. It was one of the things that made him so likable by nearly everyone.

"What's going on?" she asked, catching her breath quickly.

"I told her!" West spewed angrily, running a hand through his hair, "I told her that I was going to take the year off with Pete and then go back to school!" he continued on to mumble softly but Eddie couldn't make anything out of it. She watched as he banged his fist against the side of the house and leaned his head against it. Shocked, she realized as he twisted around and slid down the siding to the ground, that West was _crying_.

Eddie had never seen her brother like this before. When he had broken his arm falling out of a tree when he was six, he hadn't shed a tear, simply said that the ground was harder than he thought. Their dad died, West was there to comfort Eden and their mother, but she never once saw him shed a tear. It was the same with their grandpa, West was the strong one of the two. He was always the one to make everything seem better than it was. He _never_ broke down, it wasn't part of who he was. Or at least part of the Weston that everyone saw, including her.

Unsure of what to do with the crying brother in front of her, Eddie approached him uncertainly and knelt down beside him. "What's going on?" she asked again, for what seemed like the millionth time.

West gave a jump from his spot on the ground, just realizing that his younger sister was there to witness his break down. He quickly whipped his eyes and attempted to gather himself. He snuffled his nose loudly, making a small smile come to Eden's face. She sat herself down beside him and took his hand in hers comfortingly, waiting for him to speak.

"I had it all planned out," Weston said eventually. His voice was laden with emotion as he looked out to the field directly in front of the teens. "I was going to go with Pete this summer. See the sights while I still had time, get all my high school jitters out before I went to find a job."

He paused, gathering another breath. Eden squeezed his hand reassuringly and waited for him to continue on with his explanation. "I want to become a lawyer," he stated firmly.

Eden frowned, once again confused. She had known that Weston had had a dream from when he was younger that he wanted to become a lawyer. _To defend those who couldn't defend themselves_, was what he always had used to say. But that was back when they were both in middle school, she thought that he had given up on that dream and moved onto something else. She knew that their family would never have been able to pay for Law School, and Eden had just assumed that West had accepted that and decided on another career. But apparently not.

"Then be a lawyer," Eden said, despite knowing that he most likely never would, but hoped to help her brother overcome whatever was bothering him. "There's nothing stopping you."

A laugh escaped Weston as he listened to what she said. "Of course there is, Eddie. She would never allow me to do anything other than what she wanted."

"Ma?" Eden asked, gathering that the only 'She' that would be able to stop her brother would be the one that raised him. Any other woman, including his girlfriend Lorianne, and herself couldn't stop him once his ind was set to something.

West nodded, "She's hell bent on me enlisting, just like Dad."

Comprehension dawned on Eden as she realized what their mother was referring to when she 'forms'. Meg had always pressed upon West that it was his 'duty' to his family that he enlist into the Army and without the family name. Every male in their family had served at one time or another, on both sides. When he was younger, the idea of becoming a soldier and helping to defend their country had been a thrill for Weston, and he couldn't wait to be eighteen and be able to enlist. Then he took history in fifth grade and learned that being a soldier wasn't all about the glory. Ever since that point, West had been trying to convince their mother that the Army wasn't the right place for him. But despite all his protests, she still expected him to leave everything behind, all his plans, his friends, his girlfriend, to withhold the family tradition.

"She's insane," Eddie said softly. She felt West nod his head slightly. "I'd kill to have Ma allow me to enlist," she said after a few moments silence. Mentally, she braced for what she knew was coming.

_5_

_4_

_3_

_2_

_1.._

"What?!"

_Lift off.._

West gave his sister a stunned look, unsure if he had heard her right or not. "You can't be serious? You want to _enlist_?" His eyes looked like they were ready to bulge right out of their sockets. "In the Army?"

"No, I wanna be a banana in the circus!" Eden said sarcastically before she gave him a look, like she was talking to a three year old, instead of her older brother. "Yes, West. I've only been telling you this for..the past fourteen years or so."

It annoyed her slightly that Weston was just now seeming to realize how serious she had been all those years. She knew that her mother had never believed in her, but somehow Eden had always hoped that if anyone would, it would be her older brother. Apparently from the insane look that West was throwing her way, she had been very wrong. Was it really that hard for her family to understand that she wanted to serve her country, just like her father and grandpa? Honestly, she couldn't understand why Weston didn't believe her.

Her grandfather had always understood Eddie's wish to enlist, and even supported her. Though, however comforting it was to have her grandpa behind her, it had never swayed her mother into allowing her to so much as look into enlisting. Not that any branch of the military would even think of allowing her to do anything other than become a nurse, which wasn't what Eddie wanted to do. She wanted to be in the thick of things, in the action. The front lines, despite the danger, which just added to the thrill.

"I never thought you were serious," Weston admitted after a few moments silence, "Ma always said it was just a phase you'd grow out of."

Eden shook her head in disagreement, "Wasn't just a phase, or at least I'm still in it if it actually was a phase," she said thoughtfully. She leaned against West's chest and he draped his arm across her shoulder and gave her a one armed hug. "So what now?"

West gave a deep sigh and leaned his head back against the wall before staring down at Eddie's honey colored eyes, "I always did think camo was pretty cool."

--

Eden had barely made it out of West's car at the Willard's house for the second time that day before her mother appeared out of no where and grabbed her arm tightly.

West and Eden had managed to leave the Willard's after his break down without being noticed, and both opted to go back home to change for the party. West had gone straight to his room and shut the door behind him, leaving Eden standing in the small living room. She'd shook her head before going into her own room and changing into clean clothes. She had decided on a simple, light blue, sun dress that went down to her knees. It had small white daisies stitched on to it, and it was one of the few dressed Eden had that she actually liked to wear. About an hour later she had heard West come out of his room and call for her. Soon the two were out the door and on the road again for the Willard's.

"Ouch," Eden yelped as her mother dragged her into the house without a word, "Okay, mom. Arm, attached to the rest of my body." She gave a loud sigh as her mother choose to ignore her and walked faster to keep up with Meg. The two women ended up in the bathroom, where Mrs. Willard waited, a comb in hand. Eddie's eyes widen at the sight of it and she instantly made to go back out the door but her mother beat her to it and locked the door.

"Sit down, Eden," she commanded sternly. Eden suppressed a groan and sat herself down on the stool set up in front of the mirror and waited in dismay.

Soon enough Eden's chocolate colored hair was pulled back into a bun, with her bangs falling gracefully around her face. What would've taken Eden five minutes to do on her own before school had taken two grown women nearly an hour to accomplish. Not a minute after her hair had been finished, Meg had whisked her daughter out to the back yard, where the majority of the party was.

As she looked around, Eden noticed a lot of younger looking men, all in suits and ties. Most looked like doctors and lawyers in the making. Eden tried to not groan out loud as she realized how many introductions would be made that night. She followed her mother out of the safety of the house and into the war zone that she knew nothing about.

Nearly three hours later, Eden had lost count of the number of possible husbands she had met. With a pitiful noise, one not worthy of being called a groan, she fell into the lawn chair beside West, who shot her a sympathetic look.

"Find prince charming, yet?" he asked before ducking to avoid being hit by Eden's failing arm. Pete gave a laugh as he watched the siblings.

"You might as well just pick one," he said, a matter of fact tone to his voice.

Eden flashed him a grin and batted her lashes at him flirtatiously. "Are you offering, Pete?" she asked, trying to sound hopeful. At the moment, even Pete was looking a good choice against any of the dull men that her mother had invited to the party.

"You wish darling," he retorted, taking a sip of coke before walking off towards a group of football players that were calling his name.

"Well," Eden said with a saddened voice, "That's it for me. Not even Petey will marry me. I guess I'm destined to be alone my entire life and buy a bunch of cats," she looked over to West to see an amused look playing across his face.

"Don't forget to call one Buttons," he said, patting her on the head. He stood up and made to walk away.

"What?" Eden called after him in mock anger, "No more sympathy for your poor single sister?"

West turned around and started to walk backwards, "Sorry, sis. Party calls. Only got a couple more days of freedom, gotta take when I can," he arms were wide spread and he flashed her a grin before jogging to catch up with Petey and his other friends. Apparently his invitation from earlier had been forgotten as Eden watched him climb into Pete's car and they sped off down the road.

"Excuse me?" a deep voice asked from behind her, causing Eden to turn around and come face to face with a young man in a suit. "Are you Eden?"

"Yes," she answered, almost knowing exactly was coming next. The man looked relieved to find he had gotten the right girl and grin came to his face.

"Your mother sent me over," mentally, Eden was begging for the man to stop speaking. She knew the words that came out of his mouth by heart, "Apparently we're made for each other."

Eden nearly poured her soda over the poor guy's head as he continued to talk, not seeming to care that Eden had stopped listening. It was the same with every other man that her mother had sent her way that night. And sadly, none of them were smart enough to realize that they all had the same pick lines, life stories, and plans for the future. It made for a very dull night for Eden when she was forced to come to parties. She compared it to like listening to a broken record for six hours straight. That always made for a _very_ fun night.


	4. And I can’t see through the dust

**Summary: **Eden Farley wanted to prove to the world that she could be like every other man that walked the earth. But no one had ever given her the chance. Until her brother gets killed and no one's left to take his place in family tradition. Except for her. The only problem is convincing her mother that she's not the little girl her mother always wanted her to be.

**Kudos to:** Natuk for being my one and only reviewer. Thanks again for saving me from digging a hole to live in.

**Dedication:**_For David, a United States Airmen, off to serve his country in South Korea. You will always be my hero._

_--_

**Chapter Three**

**Crash and Burn**

**June, 1943**

Meg Farley gave a slight groan as the door bell rang. A glance at the clock on her bedside table showed three eighteen am. As she slipped into her ragged slippers, she prayed that West hadn't been arrested at a party. He would have no chances of going anywhere with his life with something like that on his record. Her pace quickened as the person at the door rang the bell again. As she passed by her daughter's room, she saw Eden stumbling out of bed blindly, and nearly laughed out loud as she watched as Eden stubbed her toe on the dresser and fell back into bed.

"Son of a-" Eden started but then seemed to notice her mother standing in the doorway and chose less colorful wording, "cockatoo?"

A cheesy grin came over Eden's face as she tried to convince her mother silently, but Meg just ignored her and walked on to the front door. She heard Eden follow behind her, mumbling about stupid older brothers. Apparently, Meg was not the only one who thought that Weston had gotten into some sort of trouble. She shot her daughter a look that quickly silenced her and went to open the door. Standing on the other side were two police men, just as both Meg and Eden had suspected, who else would come calling at three in the morning? A patrol car was parked in the drive way, the flashing lights still on, illuminating the front porch and lawn in red, white, and blue.

Meg felt her stomach drop as she soon found that West was not standing between the two cops like she had expected, and both had pained expressions on their faces. Something was wrong. Call it motherly instinct, but Meg knew at that moment that something was horribly wrong. Meg reached towards Eden and she instantly grabbed her hand tightly and came to stand next to her mother in the doorway.

"Where's West?" Eden's voice asked, fear evident on her face. Her eyes held tears in them, as if she too knew what had happened and was only waiting for the officers to confirm it. Meg gave Eden's hand a tight squeeze and turned her attention back to the uneasy officers.

The two officers looked at each other before turning back to the two waiting Farley women. The taller of the two took a deep breath before saying anything. "I'm sorry, but there's been an accident."

--

Eden's heart stopped as her replayed what the officer had said over and over in her head. An accident. Questions raced through her head, million a minute. What kind of accident? Was anyone hurt? Where was West? Had he been taken to the hospital? Was he downtown because he drove drunk? Had Pete been hurt? What the hell was going on?

The worst possible scenarios flew through her mind, and Eden desperately tried to block them out with happy thoughts. The officer had simply said an 'accident'. That left room for nearly anything from a someone getting a paper cut to full blown head on collisions. It wasn't specific, which meant that everything could be perfectly fine and that she was over reacting. But when Eden looked up at the officers, after trying to calm herself, she knew from the looks on their faces that things were far from fine.

--

Eden walked numbly away from her crying mother and the two officers that were trying to comfort her. Her bare feet slapped against the cold wood floor as she made her way down the hall and stopped in front of a door. A light leaked through the half open door and Eden could see the corner of a bed and a desk in one corner. There was a burgundy carpet near the closet, and a Oregon Ducks tin trash can beside the desk. Posters of different baseball players were hung crookedly on the faded Mint Green walls. She remembered all this before Eden pushed the door fully open, and a wave of sadness hit her.

His books were still on the desk. All his clothes were packed away into the closet. A pair of shoes were left shoved underneath the bed, one just poking its head out from under the skirt. His football jersey was hung proudly on the wall, all the trophies he'd won in little league were just below them. Everything was just as he had left them that afternoon before they left to the Willard's. His graduation gown was laid out on the bed neatly, and Eden desperately wished that Weston would somehow magically appear and fill the gown. She'd give anything to have him back.

Slowly, Eden crossed across the empty room and crawled onto her brother's bed. Tears ran down her cheeks as she hugged the black gown to her. She heard the officers leave and drive away and her mother start to make phone calls, but Eden didn't care. She just wanted lay on her now dead brother's bed and cry. So she did.

--

_Six year old Weston watched closely as his younger sister attempted to copy his sloppily written 'E' onto her own sheet of paper. Eden had come to him earlier that morning, begging for him to teach her how to spell her name. She was starting kindergarten the next week, and refused to enter the school building unable to write her name. So, Weston had promised that once he finished his chores he would teach her how. He, being about to enter first grade, had already learned his ABC's and how to write them already, granted not very well. But to Eden, he was a God for being able to do as much as count to thirty._

_Her brow was furrowed as she looked between her paper and her brothers before handing him the sheet. A smile came over West's face as he saw that although Eden had managed to make it fairly straight, the 'E' was facing the wrong way. Patiently, he sat back down beside Eden and gently took the colored pencil from her._

"_You did good, Eddie," he said with praise, as he placed dots on the page, "But you went the wrong way." West bit his lip and expected his work and showed it to a confused Eden. "Just connect the dots," he explained, pointing to the dots, that when connected, formed a correct 'E'._

_Eden nodded and quickly connected the dots with her light blue coloring pencil. A smile burst out on her young face as she looked between her new 'E' and the one West had started out with. "I got it!" she yelled happily, jumping up from the ground she started to dance around the small living room. West laughed at his sister's happiness over a simple letter, and set to work writing the rest of her name in dots._

_Panting slightly, Eden flopped down beside West and watched in fascination as he finished off the last dotted letter and pasted the paper to her. A few moments later she stared proudly at her crookedly written name. She looked up at Weston, love showing clearly in her honey eyes. "Thanks, Westy."_

_West simply shrugged and gave her a one armed hug. "No prob little sis."_

_--_

Hours later, Eden awoke to the sound of the front door slamming shut and voices coming from the kitchen. With a groan she pulled herself up from the bed and gently set Weston's gown back onto the mattress. She rubbed her eyes that stung from the dryness that occurred whenever someone cried too hard for too long. As she passed by the clock in the hall Eden realized that she had slept for over twelve hours and it was almost four in the afternoon.

She walked slowly down the hall and ran a hand through her tangled hair absentmindedly. As she neared the kitchen, Eden was able to make out one of the voices as her mothers. Though not absolutely sure, she thought some of the others sounded like Pete and his mom. More voices could be heard, but Eden was unsure as to who else was sitting in her kitchen. It wouldn't surprise her if the entire female population of her small town hadn't decided to come and comfort her family.

Rounding the corner, Eden saw that she had been nearly correct in saying the whole town would show up. Pastor Dave was in one corner of the kitchen, conversing with an older lady Eden soon saw was Ms. Colter, one of Eden's neighbors. Pete Molt was sitting at the kitchen table across from her mother, his own mother standing a little ways away, but kept looking at the pair apprehensively every very moments. It was like Mrs. Molt wanted to comfort Eden's mother, but knew that her son and his best friends mother were grieving together.

Nestled into another corner of the small kitchen, Eden saw a smaller group of Westley's friends. All of them had looks of anguish splashed across their faces. Eden noticed Lorraine sitting in a chair beside the group, a blank look haunted her face. Her blue eyes were blood shot and puffy. Her normally perfectly curled red hair lay limply on her shoulders. Over all, Lorraine looked exactly how Eden felt.

Eden wanted to go over and comfort the older girl, but was afraid that she would break down crying again. Instead she went in the opposite direction, towards the cooler. She felt everyone's eyes on her back as she silently opened the door and grabbed a Coke from the rack. She heard the screech of a seat being moved across the kitchen floor and felt a light hand on her shoulder.

With her eyes glued to the floor, Eden slowly turned around and instantly recognized the beaten brown loafers as those that Pete owned. She didn't say anything as he pulled her into a hug and slowly she felt herself start to break again. Tears rolled down her cheeks as Eden hugged Peter to her tighter, and he soothingly rubbed her back. Sounds of footsteps neared them and Eden pulled away from Peter to see Lorraine standing beside them. Quickly, Eden wrapped her arms around the girl's neck and hugged her fiercely. She felt Lorraine start to cry again as she did and her tears wet the back of her shirt, but Eden didn't care as she clung to the older girl and continued to cry.

--

Eden stood silently next to her mother as the priest crossed himself and turned to the ground where West's body was going to buried. He solemnly crossed the plot and Eden realized that as he did, it was like a final seal to what had happened. The priest had unknowingly just took away all hope that Eden had had left and thrown it into the coffin with her brother. There was no way that Eden could escape the truth any longer as she watched the priest nod to the man beside West's coffin. West's coffin. Tears sprung back to her eyes as it hit her again.

Never again would she see her brother alive. He would never play football again. Never go on another date with the girlfriend he left behind. He would never have his nineteenth birthday, or watch his children grow up. He would never have children, or have the chance get married. Never again would he see another sunset, or hear the rain fall. West was gone. He was dead. All because of a stupid accident that wasn't even anyone's fault. Except for Weston, which made his death all the more painful. Knowing that he could have saved himself, but all because of one simple mistake, he'd died instead.

Pete had explained it all to her later that night when she had cried with Lorraine. The party they had gone to had turned out to be boring, filled with girls who only wanted one thing, and guys who had too much to drink in celebration. So, West had opted to drive home. It had been dark by then, and he didn't even have a chance of seeing the deer jump in front of his car before it was too late. He'd swerved off the road and run straight into a light pole. It wouldn't have been that much of a big deal, just bruises and being shaken up, if only West had been wearing his seatbelt. The second Eden had heard the story, she made a promise to always wear her seatbelt.

It had killed her mother to know that it wasn't anyone's fault but his own that Weston was dead. His death would have been easier to deal with if they had had someone to blame. No one could bring themselves to blame Weston, seeing as his mistake had cost him his life. It was no one's fault but his own. Eden had tried every way to find someone else to blame. Pete, for not going with him. Lorraine, for allowing him to leave early. Herself, for letting him go without her in the first place. She even blamed the stupid bimbo who had thrown the party in the first place. Without her, none of it would have happened to begin with. But, deep down Eddie knew there was no one to blame but the one who had felt the full blow of his actions.

As Eden watched her brother's coffin disappear into the ground and people started to walk back to their cars, she cursed the deer that had thought jumping in front of a moving car would be fun.

--

**Grrr. This chapter was hard for me to write, seeing as I've never been in a position like Eden's in before. Thankfully. The flashback though, I did copy off of one of my own childhood memories with my brother.**

**Hope everyone liked it all the same. However, I know that I am not self centered enough to look at my own writings almost 40 times. Honestly, I do have standards. I plan on taking this to the end, but still, words of encouragement are always welcomed. So _please_ review. :-) I probably won't update again until sometime next week. I'm a geek, so I have band camp this weekend. Whoot. **

**Mkay, off to other adventures.**


	5. But you never told me that I was worthy

**Summary: **Eden Farley wanted to prove to the world that she could be like every other man that walked the earth. But no one had ever given her the chance. Until her brother gets killed and no one's left to take his place in family tradition. Except for her. The only problem is convincing her mother that she's not the little girl her mother always wanted her to be.

**Kudos to:** **Chelle, shariena, lady-Adnoneath**, and **Cries in Vain** for their reviews. Also, to Vain for making me get my butt in gear and actually update.

**Dedication: **_For David, a United States Airmen, who in two weeks will be off to serve his country in South Korea. You will always be my hero._

**Chapter Four**

**Heartfelt Goodbyes.. Of Sorts**

**September 14th, 1942**

Eden stood in the center of the empty room, her last box of belongings in her arms. The room was that of Weston's and was soon to become the new baby's room for a young couple from Seattle. Apparently, her childhood home was the perfect place to start a new family and Meg had been unable to refuse the money they had offered for their home.

In the beginning, Eddie had been furious with her mother for selling their home only a few months after it had happened. It felt like betraying not only West, but her Grandfather and Dad to leave behind the house that held so many of their memories.

The basement had been completely redone back when Eden had been six, with help from the entire family. There was a new railing on the stairs from when West had tried to be a monkey, and their Dad had fixed it within the week grumbling about kids and their imaginations though a smile still pulled at the corners of his lips. Even the kitchen had memories of the entire family imprinted upon it. Thanksgiving dinners with the Wilards, Christmas with the uptight and annoyingly proper Kate family.

All the memories of her childhood were mostly from the house that was now going to be the new home of starting family. It bothered Eden to know that kids would be running down the halls and laughing at the television and having time outs in the corners, just like she and Weston had. It was supposed to be _their_ home, not someone else's.

The new family was intruding on the one place that Eden had left that held memories of her family. This other family didn't _deserve_ to live in the place that had made so many of her happiest and saddest moments. It was wrong and cruel of her mother to have sold the house and Eden did her best to remind Meg of it any chance she got.

Her grudge against her mother had stayed until school had started. When the stares and the whispering had started. It didn't take long for Eden to know that everyone was talking about her and what happened. She had thought that people would be sympathetic towards her, after all she had just recently lost her older brother, the rock that held her up. But instead the entire high school population was more concerned about whether or not he really had been drunk, or purposefully hit the deer, and if Eden was still 'all there'.

The imaginations of the teenage mind was endless when left for a summer to create numerous theories and lies to spread when school started again in the fall. It was almost amazing how far people could stretch the truth to become something not only hurtful, but extremely far fetched. How in god's name would West had known the deer would be jumping on the road that night and planned his own death accordingly? He didn't even have a reasonable reason to kill himself to begin with.

The rumors started flying the moment the first bell rang on the first day of school and Eden heard every single one of the ridiculous lies.

It didn't take long for the idea of moving to sound like an amazing idea.

--

The trees sped by as Eden's mother steered their car towards their new house. Eden refused to call it home, despite her gratefulness at leaving her old, smothering town behind, that wouldn't make this new saving place her home. Her home was back in Kent would always be her one and only home. Nothing would ever be able to take the place of the cream white, two story farm house. Ever.

Although, when the cute, almost cottage like one story house on Birch Street came into view, Eden thought she might be able to suffer through living there.

--

"Not a cave like you thought?" Meg asked with a slight grin. She pulled the keys from the ignition and opened the door and headed for the front door, jingling her keys while she went. Behind them, the moving truck came to a stop and two men got out to start moving all the boxes in.

Eden gave a shake of her head before climbing out of the car. It truth, it wasn't that big of a house, really just looking like a cabin home that should be in the middle of a densely wooded area, not in the middle of an Oregon town. Eden let out a chuckle as she opened up the white picket fence and headed for the door. Only her mother would buy a house like this.

A small part of her was thrilled that her mother had bought the house. It was nothing like the one in Kent and therefor Eden wouldn't spend her time comparing the two. There was no way she would be able to look at the front yard, filled with colorful flowers and full green lawn, and see herself and West had played countless games of baseball on it.

Back at the old house the front yard had been worn down to just a few weeds and dirt, nothing like the lush green lawn that was at this house. Eddie wondered if the lawn would hold up to the sliding and running of a game of baseball and then doubted her mom would ever let her try. No need to ruin a perfectly good lawn for a game of baseball.

With a sigh Eden followed her mother into the new house. It wasn't like there was anyone here to play anyways.

--

With a grunt, Eddie set down the last box that had her name scrawled across it in black marker. Her grunt seemed to echo around the empty room that had been deemed hers. There was only one other room in the house and this had a view of the backyard instead of the one with a window facing the street. If she was going to live here Eden didn't want the entire world to see her just after having woken up. It was her mother's problem now.

The movers were moving in her mom's bed and then they would move in her twin bed as well before heading off. Together it had taken the four, including Meg, nearly five hours to haul in all the boxes that had come from Kent with them. The sun was starting to set beneath the tops of the houses and Eden could tell the movers were anxious to get going as they moved in her bed.

Meg closed the door after paying the two men and Eden gave her a tired look. "I vote we order pizza," she said seriously.

"Don't have a phone book or phone," Meg said with a sigh, dropping heavily into an arm chair. "You could always go into town and get some," she hinted with a small smile.

Eden put on a fake cheery smile, "Don't have my license," she reminded her mother. Meg had never been willing to pay for Driver's Education so Eden had been relying on Weston for the past few years to get places. Now it was only Meg who could drive.

"You could walk," Meg countered, not moving from her place on the chair.

"It's cold."

"It's the middle of _summer_ you whiner baby," Meg said with a laugh.

The two women stayed silent for a minute before Eden's mother pulled herself up from the chair, "Pepperoni with olives okay?" she questioned, disappearing down the hall to grab her car keys.

Eden let out a happy whoop and yelled her agreement. Pizza, or any food not made in their own kitchen, was rare at their house. Meg was more old fashioned and believed in providing for her family. However, in this instance there was no food to prepare and the refrigerator wasn't even hooked up yet.

"I'll be back in half an hour," Meg called as she walked out the door. She paused before shutting it and turned back to Eden, "Put some of the boxes with West's stuff up in the attic, please."

Eden gave a groan as she heard the car start and walked to the back hall where the attic ladder came down from the ceiling. She pulled gently on the string hanging about a foot down from the ceiling and took a step back as the ladder unfolded down. Going back to the living room where Weston's boxes lay untouched, Eddie picked up two and headed back to the attic.

It didn't take long to bring up the dozen or so boxes that had West's name on them up to the attic and stack them against the wall. Eden felt back for simply tucking away all memories of her brother but knew it was for the best. Or at least, in someway it had to be, otherwise her mother wouldn't want them stored away.

As she went to set down the last box down, Eden felt a tickle on her arm and looked down to see a spider sitting on it comfortably. She let out a loud scream and slapped her arm while jumping backwards. The box in her arms fell to the ground forgotten as Eden did a dance similar to the Hokie Pokie before stopping.

Her heart beat fast as she gasped to regain her breath and Eden looked around on the floor for the spider. She was relieved to see no sign of it but sighed at the slipped contents of the box she had dropped. Eden dropped down to the ground and started to place the random items back into the cardboard box. It seemed to be the entirety of what had been laying on Weston's desk the night he died.

Baseball cards, some spare change, graduation announcements, things like that. Nothing all that special but things that her mother didn't want to throw away. Eden reached over and grabbed a thick packet of papers that had fallen a little further off from the other things and looked at it curiously.

The emblem at the top right corner caught her eye and she stood up while continuing to read the front page. Eden gave a happy laugh as she finished reading the front and dashed out of the attic and flew down the stairs, forgetting all about the boxes that needed to be stored.

She had to pack.

--

Meg closed the car door and balanced the piping hot pizza she had bought at the first pizza place she had seen. She managed to unlock the front door of the house and kicked it shut behind her, calling for Eden as she went. Not seeing her daughter in the living room where Meg had last seen her, she left the pizza on the counter and went to Eden's new room. What she found shocked her.

Eden stood in the middle of her empty room, a duffel bag thrown over her shoulder and a packet of papers in hand. Her long hair had been hacked short and jagged, just above her ears. She was no longer in a blue summer dress but instead a pair of khakis, too big plaid green shirt, and a pair of what Meg thought were Weston's old jr, high loafers. Meg could only guess that the bag on her daughter's shoulder was filled to brim with more of her older brother's older clothes.

Her eyes focused back onto the papers that Eden held silently in her hands. "You found his enlistment papers," Meg said in a whispered conclusion. She must had found them in one the boxes she brought up, Meg deduced with despair.

Eden gave a nod, not trusting her voice to talk. She was going to leave, and tonight. There wasn't anything her mother was going to be able to say that would make her re-think her choice. This was Eden's chance to finally make her dream come true. She wasn't going to let it fly by.

No, she was going to fight for it.

"I'm going," Eden announced finally, her voice stronger than she had thought it would be. "I'm going to enlist."

Meg just nodded her head in agreement, still slightly in shock. "Okay."

Eden opened her mouth, ready to defend her choice but stopped short at her mother's words. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Meg repeated, "Okay."

"You're letting me enlist?" Eden questioned, surprised her mother was agreeing to something she had spent the past thirteen some years fighting. "You're just going to sit back and watch as I go off to war?"

Meg gave her a searching look, "It's what you want, isn't it?"

The question caught Eden off guard. This wasn't what she had been expecting. Yells of groundings and refusals to allow even talk of enlistment was what she had thought would be coming from her mother. Not questions like that.

But it made Eden think. Was this really what she wanted? Did she really want to risk her life for the lives of people she may never meet? Just because she managed to somehow hide herself away into the life of an Army prospective, would this be something worth the pain and sweat? More importantly, was Eden cut out for the job?

A picture of her father in his Army uniform came to mind, the look of pure patriotism and love for what he did shown through his eyes, even though the rest of his face remained straight. Her father had given everything for his country, and loved every minute of it. So had her grandfather, with his stories of his days serving. They both had told her it had been the best times of their lives.

As Eden looked back at her somewhat distressed mother, the answer was clear. Even though she loved her mother, Meg would be fine without her. There was nothing left here that would make her want to stay. "Yes, I really want to do this."

Meg let out a sigh and Eden was almost surprised as tears formed at the corners of her blue eyes. "Okay," she said almost at a whisper, "Okay."

_**--Reviews are like heroine, feed the addiction. Another update sometime soon.-- Reagan**_


End file.
